Emily Hall

Emily Hobart Hall

July 20, 1925-October 29, 2022

Salt Lake City, UT-Emily Hobart Hall was a remarkable woman who was passionate about life. She shared her love for nature and her spirit of adventure with family and friends. As a community activist, she was a steadfast advocate for environmental conservation and land-use planning.

She was born in Evanston, Illinois, to Dr. Marcus and Helen Hobart. Her paternal grandfather was a Methodist missionary in China and her maternal grandfather was a U.S. Congressman. She graduated from Wellesley College with a degree in Zoology which laid the groundwork for her environmental activism. She married Dr. Charles Chauncey Hall in 1946, the beginning of 76 years together.

In 1956, she moved with her husband to Salt Lake City. Part of the incentive for their move was reading a New York Times article about the beauty and deep powder skiing at Alta. This proved to be a suitable move for Chauncey who practiced orthopedic surgery, and survives her. They have five children (Helen Kolff, David Hall, Lucy Leaver, Janet Hall and Marcus Hall), twelve grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

As an avid outdoor enthusiast and athlete, she enjoyed skiing, horseback riding, tennis, sailing, and was an accomplished ice skater earning her gold level in the solo dance category.

Emily loved meeting new people and exploring distant landscapes, being able to visit all seven continents. She kayaked remote wild rivers in Alaska, snorkeled in Palau, walked among penguins in Antarctica, trekked in the Himalayas, and avoided hippos and crocodiles along the Omo River in Ethiopia.

Part of every summer was spent in Waupaca, Wisconsin, at her family farm surrounded by spring-fed lakes, forests, streams, and wetlands. Emily worked to protect this land in perpetuity through a local land trust.

She was an advocate for environmental issues such as land use planning, water and air quality. She was active in the League of Women Voters of Utah, serving as President for two years. One of Emily's strengths in the League was her ability to attract volunteers in the environmental area and harness their energies. She was a board member of the Utah Environment Center, Jordan River Parkway, Antelope Island Foundation. She also served on the Salt Lake County Water Quality Citizen Advisory Committee, the Governor's Advisory Task Force on Transportation and Air Quality, and Salt Lake County's Canyon Master Plan Citizen Advisory Committee. She was appointed by Governor Scott Matheson to the Utah State Air Conservation Committee where she served for ten years. Emily ran as a Democratic candidate for the Utah House of Representatives in 1976.

We are grateful to her good friends, and those who helped her during the end of her life, including Intermountain Hospice. A celebration of her life will be held on December 29th.

"Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts." -Rachel Carson

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donating in Emily Hall's memory to Save Our Canyons or the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA).